Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 102843

Coordinator Rob Costa Opens in new window

Description This subject will introduce students to ethnographic field study through a close examination of two regions with which Australia is geographically and politically aligned; Oceania (the Pacific Islands) and South-east Asia. Drawing upon classic and contemporary ethnography the subject will provide opportunities for comparative and trans-historical studies of how cultures in these regions have been constructed and changed in relation to larger global dynamics. The subject will also provide an insight into the ways in which social theory is developed in the context of attempts to explain and interpret cultural difference. Key topics of study, explored through case studies, will include the colonial experience, tradition and modernities, nations and nationalism, transnationalism, religion, social conflict, and material cultures. The subject will include a close study of visual and virtual research methodologies.

School Social Sciences

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 4 10cp

Check your fees via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 2 subject

Equivalent Subjects HUMN 2024 - Ethnographies of Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Apply anthropological concepts to the description of cultural diversity in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands.
2. Analyse some of the ways symbolic cultures and traditions are influenced by political, material and environmental factors.
3. Draw upon ethnographic case studies to explain regional similarities and differences.
4. Apply anthropological theories to case studies about cultural change.
5. Analyse some ways visual anthropology (film, photography) can effectively aid in the description of cultural phenomena.

Subject Content

The peoples of Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia in the colonial imagination.
Melanesian and Polynesian anthropologies.
Chiefs and Big Men ? governance and tradition.
Gifts, symbols and material culture.
Anthropologies of Southeast Asia: Indonesia and Thailand.
The village, the nation and nationalism in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Global interventions: the IMF, the World Bank and INGOs in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Laos.
Commodifying culture ? Southeast Asia and Oceania as tourist destinations.
Australia in the Region.
Climate change, food security and other contemporary challenges in the region.